NATO UNCLASSIFIED Publicly Disclosed NOTES ON VERSION 2.00 (February 2021) Although this handbook is ‘NATO UNCLASSIFIED – Publicly Disclosed’, some references and additional support are not accessible to the public. The Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Transformation Network Portal (TRANSNET) is an unclassified network environment enabling experts to work collaboratively to further transformation within NATO and among its member nations. The TRANSNET is open to NATO members and affiliates, partners, and International Organizations (IO). Although an open environment, access is controlled and requires the assignment of a Login ID and password. Sub-communities (such as CDE365 for Concept Development & Experimentation) are established within the portal requiring additional permissions to ensure security and fidelity of information. Additional information is available at https://transnetportal.act.nato.int. You can find an electronic copy (pdf format) of this handbook on https://www.act.nato.int/publications. Please send issues you identify (e.g., erroneous or outdated information, inactive links) and your comments or suggestion to the Concept Development Branch, Allied Command Transformation ([email protected]). NOTES ON VERSION 2.01 (March 2021) Some URLs changed in the last month and were updated in this version. For easier access, we added QR codes linking to the URLs in Annex E. NOTES ON VERSION 2.10 (August 2021) Due to its increasing importance, an introduction to Modelling & Simulation was added and the handbook was aligned with the M&S terminology. Allied Command Transformation, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Plans, Concept Development Division, 7857 Blandy Rd #100, Norfolk, VA 23551, August 2021. i NATO UNCLASSIFIED NATO UNCLASSIFIED Publicly Disclosed Foreword Concept Development is a fundamental tool that enables transformation activities. The HQ SACT Concept Development Branch, supported by the Operational Experimentation and Analysis of Alternatives Branches, makes a continuous effort to keep this handbook, based on recent experience and feedback from practitioners, ‘alive’ by quickly responding to customer feedback in an agile manner. The current version of the handbook continues along the lines of the previous versions and seeks to provide the reader with a functional toolbox. Every chapter contains the information you need to develop each element of a concept. In the revised version, we expanded the part on experimentation and analysis in support of concept development. In this edition, we added an introduction on Modelling and Simulation underlining the growing importance of this approach for CD&E. All these are significant updates, which, I believe, will improve NATO’s Concept Development efforts, and support the efficient and effective allocation of resources to support transformation. This handbook provides information for you, the concept developer, based on approved NATO guidance and policy as well as best practices derived from a rich history of CD&E experience. Although designed to address Alliance CD&E activities, it has been developed with a vision of informing NATO nations, our partners, and other nations and organizations. Accordingly, significant effort has been taken to ensure the applicability of the method across the broadest user community; however, certain aspects may require tailoring to fit national or cultural needs. I hope that this will prove a significant benefit and assist in broadening the community of interest. The handbook is truly a “living document” and as demonstrated by the recent revision and updates. The Concept Development Branch is the handbook’s custodian. They will welcome your questions and recommendations. Guy Robinson OBE Vice Admiral, GBR N Chief of Staff Allied Command Transformation ii NATO UNCLASSIFIED NATO UNCLASSIFIED Publicly Disclosed THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii NATO UNCLASSIFIED NATO UNCLASSIFIED Publicly Disclosed TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Concept Development & Experimentation as a tool for transformation .......................... 1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 Aim of this handbook ...................................................................................................... 2 Scope ............................................................................................................................. 3 Additional Support .......................................................................................................... 3 Definitions ...................................................................................................................... 3 PROJECT SOURCES, ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES......................... 5 CD&E Process ............................................................................................................... 5 Sources of Projects Proposals ....................................................................................... 6 Concept Hierarchy.......................................................................................................... 7 Project Initiation .............................................................................................................. 8 The Project Team ........................................................................................................... 9 Principles ........................................................................................................................ 9 CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT METHOD ................................................ 11 EXPERIMENTATION AND ANALYSIS AS KEY ENABLERS .............. 15 Integrating Analysis and Experimentation into a CD Project ........................................ 17 Experimentation ........................................................................................................... 19 Modelling and Simulation integration in the CD&E project ........................................... 25 Popular Experimentation and Analysis Techniques ..................................................... 27 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT ............ 33 Project Management .................................................................................................... 33 Activities to manage your project in a CD Project ........................................................ 35 Pre-Initiation Activities ........................................................................ 37 Objective of these activities .......................................................................................... 37 Activities ....................................................................................................................... 37 Developing the Concept Idea and Resource Request.................................................. 39 Next .............................................................................................................................. 40 Initiation Phase .................................................................................... 41 Objective of this phase ................................................................................................. 41 Activities ....................................................................................................................... 41 Developing the Concept Proposal and Concept Development Plan ............................ 45 Next .............................................................................................................................. 47 Research Phase ................................................................................... 49 Objective of this phase ................................................................................................. 49 Activities ....................................................................................................................... 49 Developing the Initial Concept ver 0.1 and the Updated Concept Development Plan .. 53 Next .............................................................................................................................. 55 Development Phase ............................................................................. 57 Objective of this phase ................................................................................................. 57 Activities ....................................................................................................................... 57 iv NATO UNCLASSIFIED NATO UNCLASSIFIED Publicly Disclosed Developing the Draft Concept version 0.5, the Updated Concept Development Plan, and the Initial Implementation Proposal ....................................................................... 61 Next .............................................................................................................................. 63 Refinement and Validation Phase ...................................................... 65 Objective of the phase .................................................................................................. 65 Activities ....................................................................................................................... 65 Developing the Validated Concept, version 0.9 and the Updated Implementation Proposal 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